Update (July 11, 2020): While all of these were true when this article was written, a major change took place on July 10, when the new rules for entering Croatia were introduced. Please follow the article about those changes to get the latest information, as it becomes available. 

July 2, 2020 - Can Americans visit Croatia after the latest EU borders update on July 1? Feedback from the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community provides some answers from actual travellers yesterday. 

After weeks of uncertainty in this most uncertain of times, some clarity is emerging on the most common question in the Total Croatia Travel Viber community (you need to download the app) - can Americans visit Croatia with the new border rules?

It seems that they can. 

First, the soundbite sentence to put things in a nutshell. I have asked the Croatian border police to confirm everything stated in this article, which they have done, making the advice stated here official:

Croatia is open for tourism with paid accommodation outside the EU. Croatia is not in the Schengen zone, and so you can transit through a Schengen airport and come to Croatia, no problem, as long as you have the right documentation.

The main advice is the more documentation, the better. This should include at least:

1. Proof of paid accommodation.

2. The confirmation email after you fill in the entercroatia.mup.hr form. 

3. Some of the testimonies you will see below to help you argue your case.

4. The latest IATA guidelines for travel to Croatia. 

Now let's hear the feedback from tourists who posted in the Viber community on July 1.

Hey everyone—more positive signs! A few days ago, I tried filling out the IATA "passport, visa, & health" section, where it asks for all the info regarding your exact air travel plans, carrier, transit countries/dates/times, passport info, etc. Then, the result I received was NO. But just now I tried it again. The result? YES! Specifically, "Yes, the documentation you hold is sufficient based on your details and the itinerary provided." FYI I selected "tourism/vacation" as my reason, and I am a US citizen residing in the US, planning to arrive in Croatia on July 15. I recommend that in the interest of providing as much documentation as humanly possible, everyone also fill that out—take a screenshot or save as PDF each screen as you go through the process, and do the same with the result. Then, if you have any trouble while checking in, just hand it to the airline agent so that they can copy your exact details into the online form and get the same result! Fill it in here.

From Dubai via Amsterdam:

Hi guys! I just checked into my first leg (Dubai-Amsterdam). Gate agent was super nice, asked: do you have documentation to enter Amsterdam? I said yes, Do you have documentation to enter Croatia? Answered yes. He asked to see it. He was basically reading whatever the screen asked him to, he told me....”it says here I have to see it” and he barely looked at my printed MUP form and gave me the tickets for both legs. I am hoping  Amsterdam-Zagreb will be as easy! ( I hold and American passport and have not been to the US in 3 years).

The border police in Copenhagen:

We fly SAS... Chicago - CPH - SPU

Leave on July 9.  Border police in Copenhagen said no issue with transit with an onward ticket to Croatia if we stay in the international transit terminal.

From Newark to Zagreb via Amsterdam:

A buddy of mine traveled Monday from Newark, Amsterdam, Zagreb and arrived perfectly fine in Croatia. He has NO Croatian paperwork, citizenship, documents, etc - however, his father who was born in Croatia had all of his docs, including Croatian passport. The two of them traveled together. To prove identity and relation as father/son, my friend was only asked and required to show his birth certificate to officials in Newark.

Some advice transiting through Paris:

I just called KLM and my flight for Friday is confirmed through CDG which means people should be able to transit! Here is the link to the document you will need! Scroll down to where it says “certificate of derogatory travel” and open up the English PDF. You have to print this out and sign it and show it before takeoff in both your departure city and Paris. I’m going to print a French version out as well but will only sign the English one.  The woman said there is a similar process for those transiting through Amsterdam but I don’t have the info on that. Be sure to use google chrome so you can translate the website as it is in French. Here is the link.

San Francisco via Munich:

I am currently in Munich airport.  Came from San Francisco.  Because we booked it all together we got both boarding passes in SF and bags are checked through to Zagreb.  We have not had to talk to the German border control at all.

New York via Paris:

Okay, I was the one that asked about traveling with US passport and domovnica.... so far was allowed on the plane to France and am now seated on the plane to Zagreb.... last check will be if they allow me and kids in Zagreb. We flew Air France from New York.

Some other useful bits of information from our Viber community:

THIS IS THE MOST COMMON ANSWER TODAY SENT OUT BY CROATIAN BORDER POLICE - THEY PROVIDED IT TO US SO SHARE

Dear sirs/madam,

By the decision of the Civil Protection Headquarters from 30. 06. 2020. citizens of the Member States of the European Union or the Member States of the Schengen area as well as members of their families and third-country nationals who are long-term residents under Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 on the status of nationals third countries with long-term residence and persons entitled to reside under other EU directives or national law do not have to prove the reason for their entry (business, economic, tourist, etc.). Those persons can enter under the same conditions as before the disease COVID-19, but still with epidemiological control, and with the obligation to comply with general and special recommendations of the Croatian Institute of Public Health.

In order to shorten the waiting time at the border crossing point, it is recommended that foreign nationals who will come to Croatia, send additional data in advance via web address https://entercroatia.mup.hr/.General and special recommendations and instructions are available at the following web address: https://www.koronavirus.hr/recommendations-and-instructions-of-the-croatian-institute-of-public-health-for-croatian-and-foreign-nationals-who-are-crossing-the-state-border-and-entering-the-republic-of-croatia/633

The dedicated information page from the US Embassy in Zagreb.

A printout of the latest regulations from the Timatic system (this is used by airlines for the latest entry data for each national)

National USA (US)               /Embarkation USA (US)Destination Croatia (HR)Croatia (HR)

Passport required.- Passports and other documents accepted for entry must be valid for a minimum of 3 months beyond the period of intended stay.

Passport Exemptions:- Nationals of USA with an emergency passport.

Admission and Transit Restrictions:

- Passengers are not allowed to enter.

- This does not apply to family members of nationals of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland (Rep.), Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

- This does not apply to family members of British nationals.

- This does not apply to passengers entering Croatia to transit by land to a third country. They must prove that they can enter the destination country.

- This does not apply to passengers traveling as tourists.

- This does not apply to passengers traveling on business.

- This does not apply to passengers traveling as students.

Visa required, except for Nationals of USA for a maximum stay of 90 days. (SEE NOTE 53527)NOTE 53527: The maximum stay is granted within 180 days.

Additional Information:

- Visitors are required to hold proof of sufficient funds to cover their stay as follows:

- at least EUR 70.- per day of stay; or- at least EUR 30.- per day of stay if holding a confirmed invitation or a tourist voucher.

Warning:

- Passports and passport replacing documents issued more than10 years prior to date of travel are not accepted.

- Visitors not holding return/onward tickets could be refused entry.

- Brexit: The United Kingdom stopped being member of the European Union (EU) and of the European Economic Area (EEA).

Regulations related to the EU and the EEA apply to the United Kingdom until 31 December 2020.Croatia (HR)

Vaccinations not required.

This article will be updated as more experiences are shared.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

The Netherlands - as of July 21, Croatia is placed on the "Orange" list by the Dutch government, which means that both the Croatian nationals and the Dutch nationals returning to the Netherlands from Croatia are strongly advised to self-quarantine for 14 days.

July 1, 2020 — A spike in nightlife-related coronavirus infections prompted Zadar's Civil Protection Directorate to send inspectors to clubs, cafes, parties and even weddings. While most businesses adopted the recommended precautions, one violation was noteworthy and inspectors found several omissions.

Zadar's inspectors spent the weekend club crawling and checking the nightlife scene, according to Zadarski List. The head of the unit, Mate Lukić, said in a report to the city's authorities that most businesses subjected to the 73 inspections followed protocols.

"It is my pleasure that, except in one case, I can say that we did not notice any major omissions given that all facilities did their best to adhere to the recommendations, and even in the part where they are not obliged to do so," he said. "We were even at parties."

Nightclubs and late-night social events became a flashpoint in Croatia's coronavirus fight after a large number of young people in Zagreb have been infected in recent days,

The inspections uncovered slight departures from the rules, which inspectors let off with 17 warnings.

"The members of the Civil Protection Unit are more than fair to the citizens," Lukić said. "We often act educationally because these sudden changes related to the appearance of the virus confuse the citizens as well."

The inspectors did, however, fine one establishment for having water in what was supposed to be a disinfectant bottle.

A majority of citizens adhered to measures, Lukić added, with some establishments going out of their way to impose the rules upon guests. At the outdoor bar "Hype", for example, all staff members from guards to waiters use protective equipment. Hostesses disinfect guests' hands before entering.

The hardest part of the job was inspecting weddings, Lukić said, crashing unannounced into the most important day of the year for the newlyweds. The inspectors were met with some pushback as they did their job, though the results were more than satisfactory — it turned out that the wedding organizers and the owners of the facilities respected the measures.

The team included two inspectors and two police officers, Lukić added.

"As a unit leader who monitors the situation on the ground on a daily basis, I can say that I am glad that people are adhering to the measures so carefully, accepting the new situation in which we must protect ourselves and others to the maximum," Lukić said. "On the other hand, we see that the people of Zadar have continued with their usual life because, judging by our tours of the clubs, the nightlife is active."

The Chief of the Civil Protection Directorate of the City of Zadar, Ante Babić, said the latest measures came after the Adria Tour and an increase in visitors sparked concern over more potential infections.

"We usually issue warnings, but as the police and the State Inspectorate visit the facilities, misdemeanor proceedings can be initiated for serious violations of measures," Babić said.

July 1, 2020 - Tourism was on hold when we started this series of articles, but most of us still have plenty of time. So let's look at the virtual resources available to explore Croatia virtually. We continue our new Virtual Croatia series with the tools to discover Gradac, the southernmost Riviera in Split-Dalmatia County.

A few weeks ago I wrote that being a tourism blogger in the corona era was about as useful as being a cocktail barman in Saudi Arabia. I feel less useless now, a few weeks later, and I am encouraged by the number of Croatian tourism businesses who are contacting us wanting to start thinking of promoting post-corona tourism. 

One of the challenges of writing about tourism at the moment is that there is nothing positive to write about. With people confined to their homes and tourism in Croatia currently not possible, many have decided to go into hibernation until it is all over. 

I think that this is a mistake, and I have greatly enjoyed the TCN series by Zoran Pejovic of Paradox Hospitality on thinking ahead to tourism in a post-corona world.  You can find Zoran's articles here.

Way back on March 14 - several lifetimes ago - I published an article called Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Ways to Discover Zagreb. The way I saw things, now was an OUTSTANDING opportunity for tourism promotion. People have time, they yearn for their freedom and former lives, so give them the tools to thoroughly research and enjoy your destinations, and you will have then longing to be there. And when they do come, they will have a deeper understanding of the destination due to their research. 

South Africa and Portugal were the first to do their post-corona tourism promotion videos several weeks ago (Post-Corona Tourism Planning: Lessons from South Africa and Portugal), a trick which has been followed by other tourism countries, the latest being Croatia with the national tourist board campaign, #CroatiaLongDistanceLove, going live yesterday.

But while these campaigns create longing and market presence, they don't really educate. People now have time to really get into destinations. And dreams of escape to somewhere more exotic are high on the list of priorities of many. 

So TCN has decided to help with that education with a new series called Virtual Croatia, where we will be helping you discover many of Croatia's destinations with all the best virtual tools available on your self-isolating sofa at home. 

We started with Tourism in the Corona Age: 10 Virtual Tools to Discover Hvar.

After this, we put our a press release (which you can read here in English and Croatian) offering a free article to any local tourist board in Croatia who would like the free promotion in our Virtual Croatia series. 

The Sinj Tourist Board was the first to respond, and now you can see just how rich the tourism offer is in this proud Alka town - your virtual tools to Discover Sinj. This was followed by Discover Opatija, Discover Brela, Discover Rogoznica, Discover Stari Grad, Discover Omiš, Discover Lumbarda, Discover Jezera, Discover Šolta, Discover Cavtat and Konavle, Discover Koprivnica and Discover Pašman.

People from the Gradac Riviera Tourist Board helped us put together a series of videos that will introduce you to the Riviera. 

Let's begin! 

Gradac Riviera - 15 km of Beach Heaven 

Gradac Riviera Tourist Board introductory promotional video

Something for everyone on Gradac Riviera

{youtube}hH-s2sE9yi8{/youtube}

A walk along the beach

Discover Gradac Riviera Villages

Zaostrog, as seen by a guest in 4K

Brist

Beaches in Brist

Beaches in Podaca

Gradac

Active Vacation Destination

Cycling path along the Gradac Riviera 

Rock-climbing site Vrisje

Biking, hiking, walking adventure in Gradac

A video of a bike tour on the Gradac Riviera

Discover Gradac Riviera Website

The Gradac Riviera website offers you many tools to discover Gradac and the places around it. Make sure you find out all about their active vacation offers. 

Is there a beach you'd love to be on more than one of the amazing beaches on Gradac Riviera? 

To discover more of virtual Croatia, you can follow this series in our dedicated section, Virtual Croatia. 

If you are a local tourist board in Croatia and would like your destination featured in this series for free, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Subject Virtual Croatia (and destination name)

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - The State Electoral Commission (DIP) on Wednesday partially amended recommendations concerning the arrival of eligible voters at polling stations for the July 5 parliamentary elections in the event that they have a high body temperature.

The recommendations have been made for the purpose of preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection.

DIP thus recommends that on Sunday morning eligible voters measure their body temperature and in the event that it is higher than 37.2°C and if they also have respiratory symptoms characteristic for the COVID-19 disease, they are supposed to telephone their doctors.

Under the amended recommendations, voters diagnosed with COVID-19 who are therefore isolated cannot vote during the elections as they are placed in isolation as a measure stipulated by Article 2 of the law on the protection of the population against infectious diseases, which bars infected persons from making physical contact with other persons, including polling committees' members. This means that under the amended instructions the ban on turning up at the polling stations or voting at home refers explicitly to active COVID-19 cases.

Other persons with elevated body temperatures that can be accompanied by other symptoms typical for the infection with coronavirus are now advised to telephone their doctors. The amended instructions do not explicitly mention that they are banned from turning up at polling stations to vote in the election or from arranging with polling committees a meeting at their home to vote there.

DIP explains that it has amended the instruction following various interpretations of its previous recommendations.

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - The Constitutional Court has requested the State Electoral Commission (DIP) to explain within 24 hours its voting ban for persons infected with coronavirus as part of the oversight of the constitutionality and legality of elections, Court president Miroslav Separovic told Hina on Wednesday.

After the Commission's explanation, the Court will make a decision on the Commission's conclusion that infected persons cannot vote at home in the July 5 parliamentary election, unlike voters who will be in self-isolation that day and who also pose a health risk, Separovic said.

A number of constitution experts, politicians, and NGOs have warned that the Electoral Commission's exclusion of persons with coronavirus from voting restricts unconstitutionally and disproportionately the suffrage rights, but the Commission sticks by its position, citing health protection.

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - Health Minister Vili Beros said on Wednesday that an expert group had unanimously decided to make it possible for parents whose children were hospitalised to spend with them 15 minutes a day and that a recommendation to that effect would be sent to all hospitals caring for children.

"A unanimous decision has been made that, despite the epidemic, it is of great importance to enable parents to be with their child who is undergoing hospital treatment, notably regarding the age (children under the age of three) and the duration of treatment (long hospital stay)," Beros wrote on his Facebook wall.

The Health Ministry will send a recommendation to all hospitals caring for children to enable parents to stay with their child when that is possible considering available space, namely regular visits on the condition of compliance with epidemiological measures, the minister said.

The Roda parents' association earlier in the day said it had gathered more than 35,000 signatures of parents for a petition asking the Health Ministry to cancel the current ban on parents' visits to and stay with their children undergoing treatment in hospital, a restriction introduced to help contain the spreading of the coronavirus.

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - Cromaris sold 956 tonnes of fish and processed products in June, which was 18% more than in June 2019, this leading company in the aquaculture sector in Croatia stated on Wednesday.

The sales revenues increased by about 20% this June as against the same month in 2019.

In the first half of 2020, the corona crisis slightly affected the level of sales, however, the adverse effect was offset by higher prices. As a result, 2020 H1 business revenues are likely to be similar to the company's performance in the corresponding period in 2019.

Cromaris, a member of the Adris Group, introduces itself on its website as "a company that specializes in growing, processing and sale of indigenous Adriatic fish."

"We were established in 2009 through a merger of Croatian and European aquaculture pioneers. Our fish has present in the European market for over 40 years."

More than 80% of the factory's production is exported.

"We are currently present in the markets of Croatia, Italia, Slovenia, Germany, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary."

ZAGREB, July 1, 2020 - Contracts for the start of a 105.5 million kuna project to construct a Novi Marof east bypass road were signed in that northwestern Croatian town on Wednesday.

The contracts were signed by the Croatian state-run road operator (HC) director, Josip Skoric, and senior executives of the companies that will build the road.

Novi Marof Mayor Sinisa Jenkac said at the ceremony that local inhabitants had been waiting for this project since 1987 when the decision on the east bypass road had been made. The infrastructure will defuse traffic jams in the center of the city.

The project includes the construction of a 4.5 -kilometer-long road, two bridges across the River Bednja, six crossroads and interchanges, and other facilities.